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Saturday, May 17, 2014

Papaya Payasam (Kheer)

A few weeks ago, I chanced upon a cookery show on Asianet (a
Malayalam channel) and the host was starting to make papaya payasam. Until
then, I had not heard the words papaya and payasam together so I was intrigued.

The process seemed simple enough and I decided to try
it. But I didn’t make it for a few weeks…even though there was a papaya sitting
on my counter, waiting to be cut. The thing is, if I make anything sweet, and
my husband doesn’t care for it much, I end up having the leftovers. To avoid
that, I waited for an opportune moment and finally made it when a cousin
visited us for dinner.

The payasam was an absolute hit and received a thumbs-up
from both the tasters. My cousin had a hard time figuring out what the payasam was made of, he guessed and guessed and finally gave up!!!

Ingredients

Cooked papaya – 1 ¼ cups (approx.)

Melted jaggery – ¾ -1 cup (to taste)

Coconut milk – 1-1 ¼ cups

Cardamom powder – a pinch

Ghee – 2 tsps

Raisins and almonds/cashews for garnish

Water for cooking the papaya and melting jaggery

Method

Deseed and dice a ripe papaya into chunks. Place the papaya
in a small saucepan, pour enough water to submerge the pieces, cover and cook
until mushy. At this point, you can either transfer the cooked pulp to a
blender to make a smooth paste or whisk it to a slightly lumpy consistency. I
thought it would be better to leave some lumps, so I did not blend it. In the same saucepan, melt jaggery with a little bit of
water. Once it has completely melted, add the papaya pulp and mix well. Allow
it to heat through, on medium-low heat for about 10 minutes. Slowly add the
coconut milk and mix well. Technically, the recipe calls for the first, second
and third milks extracted from a coconut. I had just one kind…the kind that
comes from a can :-). Reduce
the heat to low and allow it to sit for about 10 minutes more. Add the cardamom
powder.

*If you are using freshly extracted coconut milk, pour the
third (most diluted) version first, then the second and finally the first. The
payasam should not be cooked too long after the addition of the thickest milk.

Heat the ghee in a small pan placed on low heat. Add the
nuts first. As they start toasting, add the raisins and sauté for a couple of
minutes. Once they plump up, remove and pour onto the payasam. Serve warm or
cold, tastes divine either way. Bon Appétit.

Note:
*To extract fresh coconut milk, you’ll need lots
of grated coconut, hot water, regular water, and a blender/mixie. Pour a little
hot water onto the coconut and squeeze away. The thick white extract you get is
the first milk. Now put the coconut into a blender jar, add some more water and
grind until it’s a fine paste. Add some more water and squeeze out the extract.
This is the second milk. Do this once more and you have the third milk.

About Us

We have been friends for a long time and we have done it all: bunked classes, watched movies, sleepovers, trips and more. Some friendships last only through the school or college years but looks like this one was meant to be…because we are still friends.
After having cooked for our families and friends for a few years, we had the urge to cook for others. This led to the idea of opening a restaurant called ‘Square Meals’, which would take patrons on a gastronomic journey through different parts of India. The restaurant never materialized and the next best thing was this blog.
The Square Meals blog provides taste-tested recipes for you to try in your own kitchens. Join us on our culinary journey as we share some of our mouth-watering creations with foodies all over the world.